That could become essential, as usually reliable left-hander Chris Rusin concluded his 2013 season Tuesday night with his shortest outing as the Pirates rolled to an 8-2 victory that handed the Cubs their 50th home loss, setting a franchise record for futility.

"To lose that many games at home, you have to stay away from," manager Dale Sveum said. "For whatever reason, we have to score more runs at home and do something at home."

Rusin (2-6), whose ERA was as low as 2.85 before his final two starts, lasted only 21/3 innings. He allowed 10 earned runs in his final 61/3 innings.

"When he was fresh, he showed what he could do at this level," Sveum said of Rusin, who finished with a career-high 1871/3 innings with Triple-A Iowa and the Cubs.

Said Rusin: "I'm going to do all I can to make the rotation."

For his part, Jake Arrieta could take another step toward solidifying the fourth spot in the rotation Wednesday when he faces the Pirates in his final start.

The Cubs have seen samples of Arrieta's dominance, most recently his start Thursday at Milwaukee when he allowed the Brewers only three hits in seven innings by mixing in a sharp curve to complement a 96 mph fastball.

"I feel like I've done pretty much everything that I've been asked," said Arrieta, who has a 3.94 ERA in eight starts since coming in the trade from the Orioles involving Feldman. "I've made strides in every aspect of my game. It's just a matter of putting it together on a consistent basis."

Arrieta would join Travis Wood, Jeff Samardzija and Edwin Jackson in the rotation entering next season, with Rusin, Kyle Hendricks, Arodys Vizcaino (recovering from elbow surgery) and perhaps Scott Baker competing for the final spot.

Sveum pointed to the Pirates, who are going to the playoffs after a 21-year drought and had lost 105 games in 2010, as an example of a franchise that turned its fortunes around steadily.

"You hope you have people who get tired of it and turn into where you appreciate winning and understand how things can turn around like the Pirates and Nationals," Sveum said. "The Pirates have done a nice job the past three to five years with the draft, some trades and some of the people they already had. It's not that far off. That's the message you try to send. It happens in every sport.

"On the other hand, you still need the results and still need to see everybody step up. That's the bottom line."